Can I stop Adobe Air updates?

Q I use a few applications that require Adobe Air to be installed, including BBC iPlayer. It seems every few days Adobe releases another update to Air so, before I can launch some applications, I’m nagged to update the program.

I usually click Cancel just so I can get on with what I want to do but, even when I choose the Update, a day or two later another update is requested. While I know it’s important to keep software up to date, I find this incredibly annoying and would really like to stop it.

Read more: Adobe articles | BBC iPlayer

I tried uninstalling Air but then found I couldn’t run iPlayer and other applications, so I’ve had no choice but to reinstall it. I’d like to understand why some programs require Air and why Adobe releases so many updates for this program? More than anything else I’d really just like to stop Air nagging me but I can’t see any option to do it. Is it possible?
Dicky Barrow

A Air stands for ‘Adobe Integrated Runtime’ and, by Adobe’s own description, it is a ‘cross-operating system runtime’ for developers. This means Air provides a way for programmers to develop tools, knowing they’ll be able to run on numerous different computing devices.

So rather than having to maintain versions of iPlayer for both Windows PCs and Apple Mac computers, the BBC’s programmers can work on just one version for Adobe Air. So long as the user installs Air, the application will run regardless of the type of computer.

It is up to Adobe why and when it releases updates. However, Air must itself maintain compatibility with various other technologies, including HTML, Javascript and Adobe’s own Flash offering, and it’s fair to conclude that this must bring its own update pressures.

We suspect Adobe is well aware of this annoyance because it has developed a special tool to silence Air’s update requests. It’s called Adobe Air Settings Manager and it’s a free download.

Click the link under the ‘Is it possible to disable Adobe Air auto-updates?’ heading, then double-click the downloaded file and click Run Now to install it. When the Settings Manager launches, click the Disable Updates button and Air will nag you no more.

It is sensible to update Air manually every so often, so relaunch Settings Manager (you’ll find it in All Programs from the Start menu), click Enable Updates, then launch an Air application and agree to update the program.